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Jan. 31, 1956 J. s. STEINER FRAMELESS TENSION SCREEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1953 Jttanze .5

Jan. 31, 1956 J. 5. STEINER FRAMELESS TENSION SCREEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1953 United States Patent FRAMELESS TENSION SCREEN James S. Steiner, Los Angeles, Calif, assiguor to General Aluminum Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application April 21, 1953, Serial No. 350,156

Claims. (Cl. 16ll-329) My invention relates generally to window screens or like structures, and more particularly to a frameless screen.

In a screen of this type, a sheet of screening material is secured along opposed edges, usually the upper and lower edges, to rigid moldings. By securing the moldings at the top and bottom of a window frame, the screen is stretched taut to close the window opening. Such a screen should be easily installed for different weather conditions, and should also be openable at the bottom for normal cleaning of the window sill, and the like. These requirements have not been satisfactorily met by prior types of frameless screens, which have securing means that are cumbersome and awkward to install and operate.

More important, it can be understood that the flexible screen material being unsupported along two sides has a natural tendency to stretch or elongate in the direction of the secured ends. Within a relatively short time, the screen material has buckled and sagged so that it is no longer effective and is unsightly in appearance.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a major object of my invention to provide an improved type of frameless screen which is easily installed, freely openable, and at the same time is more durable and rugged in use.

It is an equally important object of my invention to provide a frameless screen having spring tensioning means which may be initially adjusted to compensate for elongation of the screen material to prevent any sagging or buckling thereof.

It is another object of the invention to provide a tension screen having tensioning spring means of simple and durable construction including cooperating relatively slidable moldings for installation on the top edge of the screen material.

An equally important object of the invention is to provide upper edge moldings which resiliently support the screening material therefrom and are cooperatively interlocked with a simple and durable spring member.

It is also an object of the invention to provide lower rail latching means having a convenient operational movement in a plane generally perpendicular to the plane of the screen, and which exert a downward and inward latching pull thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide releasable securing brackets for mounting said moldings which have a positive screw locking slot.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a lower edge rail or molding having an easily accessible inwardly open finger receiving portion.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomc apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred form thereof, and from an inspection of the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a typical window showing a preferred embodiment of my screen mounted there- Figure 2 is a vertical section through the screen as sembly taken along the line 22 of Figure 1;

7 2,732,895 Patented Jan. 31, 1956 Figure 3 is a detail showing the latching means in raised disengaging position;

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the screen taken in the direction of the arrow 4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective detail of the upper molding and tensioning members;

Figure 6 is a bottom plan View of the upper securing bracket taken in the direction of the arrow 6 of Figure 4; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the complete latch element.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, thereof, a conventional rectangular window opening is framed by a lower sill 10, end members 11 and an upper frame member 12. Fitted within the window opening is a preferred form of my screen having a sheet of screen material 14 extended vertically between an up per molding 15 and a lower rail 16 which lies adjacent to upper frame 12 and sill 16, respectively. Screen sheeting 14 is formed of conventional wire or plastic mesh and is placed under vertical tension so as to be held taut.

In order to support the upper edge of the screen, I provide a plurality of mounting brackets 20 which are adapted to be secured rigidly to a header strip 21 extended along upper frame 12. As is best seen in Fig. 5, each of the brackets 29 has a flat central body portion 22 formed integrally with a downturned rear flange 23 and an upturned front flange 24. Body portion 22 has an elongated tapered slot 25 therein which opens into an enlarged circular end aperture 26. A headed screw 27 is driven upwardly into strip 21 and is used to hold bracket 24) in place thereon. The size of the head of screw 2'7 is such as to pass through aperture 26 but not through slot 25. Thus, by fitting aperture 26 over screw 27 and sliding bracket 20 longitudinally, the shank of screw 27 may be wedged within slot 25 so that the bracket is secured firmly to strip 21 and at the same time may be easily removed. To facilitate gripping brackets 20 for longitudinal sliding movement, a pair of cars 28 may be turned downwardly at the ends of body portion 22.

The upturned front flanges 24 of bracket 20 serve as hangers for fixedly supporting an elongated horizontal mounting member or molding 30 which is fitted in vertical telescoping relationship to the previously mentioned upper screen molding 15. Molding 15 is urged resiliently upwardly on molding 34) by a spring means 31 so as to eriert a constant upward pull or tension on the screen sheeting 14.

The upper wall portion of molding 39 carries a rearwardly spaced and downturned flange 32 which defines an elongated slot or track 33 that is adapted to slidably receive bracket flange 24 therewith. The lower wall portion of molding 30 is offset rearwardly from the upper portion, and carries a forwardly projecting bottom lip or trough 34 to complete the definition of a shallow forwardly open chamber or channel 35 which receives spring means 31.

The cooperating teelscoping molding 15 has a front wall 36 of substantial depth which is terminated at the top by a rearwardly projecting lip or trough 37 which fits within channel 35 and lies in opposed relationship to trough 34. Both troughs 34 and 37 are preferably of dished or semi-circular cross-section. Spaced rearwardly from the upper portion of wall 36 is a rear wall 38 which bears slidably against the offset lower wall portion of molding 30. Below wall 38, molding 15 is provided with an upturned and rearwardly spaced flange 39 forming an elongated clamping slot 40 which is adapted to receive and frictionally hold the upper edge of screen 14 therein, as is seen in Fig. 2. Molding 15 is conveniently formed from a single strip of material by bending the lower portion of front Wall 36 back upon itself. in double thickness,

r a 3 and then bending this section upwardly to form the flange 39 and define slot 40. Both molding and are typically formed as extruded or stamped strips of thin metal, and. are .cut to proper length for particular installations.

As is best seen in Fig. 4, spring means 31 is preferably formed as a shallow upwardly bowed leaf spring having a raised central portion 42 and upturned ends 43. Spring 31 may be simply formed of spring wire cut to proper length and bent into the desired shape. The upper portion 42 rides within trough 37 formed on molding 15, while end portions 43 lie within the trough 3d of molding 31). As molding 15 is pulled downwardly relative to molding 3%, spring 31 is flattened and urges molding 15 resiliently upwardly. This exerts an upward pull or tension on screening material 14 to hold the latter stretch taut in the window opening. When the screen is initially secured in place at the bottom, molding 15 is displaced downwardly so as to flatten spring 31 a substantial amount. Thus, spring 31 is able to compensate for any subsequent elongation of screen sheeting 14 and maintain proper screen tension.

The lower horizontal rail 16 which is secured along the bottom edge of screen sheeting 14 is formed as an elongated metal channel having a cross-sectional shape as seen in Fig. 2. An angled bottom wall 46 is adapted to seat flush on sill 10 and is bent rearwardly and upwardly to form a short back wall 47 carrying a downwardly and forwardly angled latching flange or finger grip 48. A front wall 49 extends upwardly from wall 46 and is curved rearwardly above flange 48 to define therewith a rearwardly open space 56. The upper end of wall 49 is bent back forwardly and joined to an upper wall portion 51 which carries a rearwardly and downward turned flange 52. Wall 51 and flange 52 define a clamping slot 53 which receives and frictionally holds the lower edge of screen sheeting 14 therein. Rail 16 is also conveniently formed as an elongated extrusion which may be cut to proper length for different installations. Preferably, rail 16, as well as the moldings 15 and 30, are formed of a light weight and corrosion resisting material such as aluminum.

As will be remembered, one of the objects of the invention is to provide the window screen which is easily opened and is yet held securely in place. To hold the bottom rail 16 against sill 16, I provide a pair of latches which are fixedly mounted at the corners of the window frames and are releasably engageable with the bottom rail. As shown in Fig. 7, latch 60 has an upstanding body portion formed with an outer leg 61 and inner leg 62 joined together by lower web 63. Outer leg 61 is apertured at the top to take a fastening means 64 for securing the leg flush against one of the end members 11 of the window frame. Inner leg 62 has an inturned apertured foot 65 to take a similar fastening means for attaching it rigidly to sill 11). The latch 69, as seen in Fig. 7, corresponds to the latch at the right hand end of the window as viewed in Fig. 2, but as can be understood, the left hand latch is exactly similar except for a reversal as to the inner and outer sides of the part.

Extending across between legs 61 and 62 is an upper cross pin 66 which pivotally supports an operating lever 67. Lever 67 has a rearwardly extending handle portion 68 and a pair of spaced downturned side walls 69 which support a second or intermediate pivot pin 70 for swingable and rotatable movement. Also mounted between legs 61 and62 is a hook member 72 having a forwardly projecting hook 73 and spaced side walls 74 through which are extended a lower cross pin 75. Walls 74 have upper ears 76 which extend upwardly in bracketing relationship to lever walls 69 and are journaled on pivot pin 76. Each of the legs 62 and 61 has an elongated vertical slot 78 therein through which is extended the lower cross pin 75. Thus, the lower end of hook member 72 is mounted for a limited vertical movement while the upper end is swingable with the intermediate pivot pin 70.

The operation of latch 60 is best understood by an inspection of Figs. 2 and 3. When lever 67 is pivoted upwardly on pivot 66, the latch is in an open position, as seen in Fig. 3. Ears 76 are swung upwardly with pivot pin 70, pulling cross pin 75 to the top of slot '78. At the same time, hook member 72 is pivoted rearwardly on pivot 75 so that hook 73 is raised. In this connection, it should be noted that the arc of travel of pivot 76 extends both rearwardly and upwardly, the bottom of the are being substantially horizontal and the upper portion being substantially vertical. Thus, hook 73 is first pivoted upwardly and then raised vertically as lever 67 swings upwardly. Upon downward movement of lever 67 hook 73 first moves vertically downwardly, and then pivots forwardly and downwardly.

In the use of the device, latches 66 may be easily released by raising levers 67 to free rail 16 so that the bottom of the screen may be swung outwardly. It should be noted that the movement of levers 67 is perpendicular to the plane of the window screen so that they may be easily grasped and operated without any pinching or other injury to the hand. When it is desired to lock rail 16 in place, the fingers are conveniently inserted into the finger receiving portion 51) to grasp flange 43 and pull the rail inwardly to a position abutting latches 61 As is seen in Fig. 3, the rail 16 will be raised above sill 11) whenever it is free from latches 69 by reason of the upward telescoping movement of molding 15 upon molding 30 through the urging of spring 31. As rail 16 is pulled inwardly it is therefore spaced above the surface of sill 11) before latches 69 are engaged.

When leyers 67 are pivoted downwardly, hooks 73 override flange 48 and bear downwardly thereon. Continued movement'of lever 67 causes rail 16 to be pulled downwardly and seat against sill 11 while hooks 73 pivot forwardly so that they are locked tightly on flange 43. Since rail 16 is now moved downwardly from its free position, spring 31 is flattened to exert an upward tension on screen 14. In this position, as seen in Fig. 2, molding is displaced downwardly on the molding 39 so that it is free for subsequent upward movement.

It will be appreciated, that during the life of the screen, there is a natural tendency for the flexible screen material 14 to stretch or elongate. In conventional installations, this results in a buckling and sagging of the screen material which is highly undesirable. Through the use of a tension means just described, any tendency of screen material 14 to elongate or stretch, will be automatically compensated for by upward movement of molding 15 through the urging of spring 31. At the same time, the use of this construction in no way interferes with the ease of installation or removal of the screen, nor its normal opening and closing.

a While I have thus shown and described in some detail a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that changes of design and construction will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, I do not wish to be restricted to the foregoing description, except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A frameless screen comprising: a panel of flexible screen material adapted to be secured along one edge of said panel; a relatively movable molding secured along the opposite edge of said panel and having a downwardly opening trough; a relatively fixed molding fitted in telescoping relationship to said movable molding and slidably supporting the latter for movement in the plane of said panel, said fixed molding having an upwardly opening trough opposed to said downwardly opening trough and an upper track; brackets slidably engageable with said track and releasably securable to a fixed frame member; and a spring mounted between said troughs and yieldably urging said movable molding away from said one edge of said panel to exert a constant tension on said panel.

2. A frameless screen comprising: a panel of flexible screen material; a rail secured along one edge of said panel; a relatively movable molding secured along the opposite edge of said panel and having a downwardly opening trough; a relatively fixed molding fitted in telescoping relationship to said movable molding and slidably'supporting the latter for movement in the plane of said panel, said fixed molding having an upwardly opening trough opposed to said upper trough and downwardly opening track defined by a rearwardly and downturned flange; a bracket having an upturned hanger fitted slidably and releasably in said track, said bracket having a slot adapted to fit over a screw projecting from a fixed frame member and lockable in said slot to secure said bracket and said fixed molding thereon; means adapted to releasably secure said rail to an opposed fixed frame member; and a spring mounted between said troughs and yieldably urging said movable molding away from said rail to exert a constant tension on said panel.

3. A frameless screen comprising: a rectangular panel of flexible screen material; a rail secured along one edge of said panel; a relatively movable molding having a lower slot receiving therein an opposite edge of said panel and having spaced front and back Walls, said front Wall having an upper rearwardly turned downwardly opening trough thereon; a relatively fixed molding having a lower wall fitted in telescoping relationship between said front and back walls and formed with a lower forwardly projecting upwardly opening trough opposed to said upper trough, the upper portion of said fixed molding having an elongated track therein; brackets slidably engageable with said track and releasably securable to a fixed frame member; means adapted to releasably secure said rail to an opposed fixed frame member; and a bowed spring confined between said troughs and yieldably urging said movable molding away from said rail to exert a constant tension on said panel.

4. A frameless screen'comprising: a panel of flexible screen material; an elongated rail secured along the bottom edge of said panel; a relatively movable molding secured along the opposite edge of said panel and having a downwardly opening trough; a relatively fixed molding fitted in telescoping, relationship to said movable molding and slidably supporting the latter for movement in the plane of said panel, said fixed molding having an upwardly opening trough opposed to said downwardly opening trough and an upper track; brackets slidably engageable with said track and releasably securable to a fixed frame member; and a spring mounted between said troughs and yieldably urging said movable molding away from said rail to exert a constant tension on said panel.

5. A frameless screen comprising: a panel of flexible screen material adapted to be secured along the bottom edge thereof; relatively movable molding having a lower slot receiving therein an opposite edge of said panel and having spaced front and back walls, said front wall having an upper rearwardly turned downwardly open trough thereon; a relatively fixed molding having a lower wall fitted in telescoping relationship between said front and back walls and formed with a lower forwardly projecting upwardly open trough opposed to said upper trough, the upper portion of said fixed molding having an elongated track therein; brackets slidably engageable with said track and releasably securable to a fixed frame member; and a bowed spring confined between said troughs and yieldably urging said movable molding upwardly to exert a constant tension on said panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,705,132 Norquist Mar. 12, 1929 1,705,442 Dominick Mar. 12, 1929 2,519,998 Burns Aug. 22, 1950 

